Why do you like music?

[mickomoo]

I'm kind of curious. Why do you all like music? And to make such a broad question smaller, what kind of sound and/or patterns do you like to hear in your music? And finally, do you compose the type of music you with the qualities like to hear?

For me I love low and midrange tones harmonizing, so I like good counterpoints written in the octave ranges I like most. Really vague I know, but Im having trouble deconstructing and describing the more complex aspects of what I like in a sound.

[AngelCityOutlaw]

Kind of a weird question.

I think that enjoying music is just something humans do. I've never met anyone who flat out didn't like music.

The first song I ever really loved was "Achey Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus when I was like 2. When I got older, I found all of my mom's 80s metal records and still blast them today.

I was never good at things like drawing, but I think I'm at least decent with music. So basically it's the only art I have any skill in.

[timaeus222]

I like music for its complexities, harmonic interplay, and sound design. Anytime there's a cool chord progression, harmonious sounds (atmospheric pads and rich FM basses, electric rhythm guitars and wubs, etc.), cool sounds (certain dubstep wobbles, nuanced leads, 'ear-candy' filler sounds, etc.), interesting note exchanges, or anything of that sort, I'm probably going to dig it.

In particular, I love E. Pianos with a lot of grit, distorted pulse leads, FM basses, well-designed wobbles, etc.; anything with all its textural details polished, performed, sequenced, and/or modulated with care and effort.

I definitely compose my music with qualities I like to hear, but I choose my sounds very carefully so that as many people could like it as possible. I select them such that there aren't displeasing aspects to the extent that even people who don't like the atmosphere subjectively would still say something to the effect of, "it's not my genre but it probably sounds good for whomever likes it". However, even thinking about that, it doesn't really limit what I choose to do, which is a plus. There's so many different types of sounds and so many ways to tweak them to sound unique, so it usually ends up pretty crowd-pleasing in the end without sounding strained.

[Ethan Rex]

Okay, kinda cheesy/deep/atypical-of-my-usual-personality story here.

When I was growing up my parents did the usual thing of throwing me into every activity imaginable until I found one I liked. I played sports, did Boy Scouts, and other things like that. I had fun in those activities, but it always seemed like the other kids could really get into them in a way I couldn't.

Now, I grew up in a home with a piano that my mom played, but it was always like church hymns. Other than that and video game/movie soundtracks, I was never really exposed to music that much.

SO, one day I'm with my mom when she decides to get some random acoustic guitar CD for whatever reason. She's driving home and a track comes on that's really pretty jazzy. This solo hits and for some reason that just clicks in my head. The music just makes sense for some emotion or thing in me that I've been trying to make heads or tails of.

Fast forward to now and that's still the main reason I like music: it allows me to convey and understand different emotions or attitudes that I can't normally express. It's almost this little friend that I've always had with me that gets filled with energy while listening to music.

Sorry for the deep and weird insight into Ethan Rex, I'll stop now lol.

EDIT: I should probably answer the question instead of rambling. I acquire the emotion of music that I listen to. I tend to love happier stuff with leads that dance all over the place as well as warm sounding or complex chords. Basically I love jazz.

Edited September 12, 2013 by Ethan Rex

[Yami]

Well, when I was 5 I wanted to play Keyboard, because I liked the way it sounded (the first one I heard was a Yamaha, FM ftw ), and so I played it for a few years until I didn't have time for it anymore. Afterwards I only listened to music, which became a major factor in my life and the changes I went through, so music was essential for me. It was so essential that I needed to make music again and started over with learning about it.

And this:

I was never good at things like drawing, but I think I'm at least decent with music. So basically it's the only art I have any skill in.

[lazygecko]

Kind of a weird question.

I think that enjoying music is just something humans do. I've never met anyone who flat out didn't like music.

Not at all a weird question, really. You'll find that people at large aren't really very interested in music in itself. It's usually about lifestyle or idol worship. If you overhear teenage girls discussing One Direction, it's probably not the musical qualities they're talking about.

It took me a while to fully realize but I'm simply into music cause I'm interested in the core building blocks. Harmony, rhythm and timbre. I like certain genres cause I think they excel in some of these aspects. For example I like jazz and progressive music because it generally encourages a greater harmonic palette, or in electronic music I lean more towards techno cause I like the greater focus on rhythm and timbre while forfeiting the more traditional pop structure of chord progressions, chorus/verse etc.

When discussing music with others it became more and more apparent just how uninterested people tend to be in these things. Even among other musicians it's not uncommon to view composition as just a dull means to an end.

Others may be into music due to lyrics, or the virtuoso aspect of instrument performances. I think those are probably much more common than the former.

[WillRock]

Oh man. This is a tricky question! I really enjoy listening to music thats hard to play for some reason, virtuosic performances are a big thing for me. Its hard to say specifics. I like music with a good rhythm, music with emotive and challenging performances, music with alot of energy... I'm very big on harmonies and how they compliment each other in music. I'm very big on vocal harmonies as well, maybe because of the unique textural quality of the human voice. Um... I like music thats BIG which is where my love of reverb comes from... so many qualities to why I like specific music, but not music as a whole. Like I said, a tricky question

[avaris]

I like to immerse myself in things that carry the same emotions I have at that time. Music is the most immediate and diverse medium for this.

I can also use music to set a mood...whatever mood that might be.

[XPRTNovice]

I think music is a great form of communication, and I think that's one of the reasons why I love video game and film music so much. Communication is about context; music set to epic events like video games makes such a difference in the message to me. And it can act as communication all on its own, even without lyrics. I think that's amazing.

It also seems to be this strange cosmic constant between cultures, and something that defies explanation - though you can break down the music mathematically, it's just never a good enough explanation of what music is, and why it does what it does.

[Argle]

I like it because it has a good beat and you can dance to it.

[DarkeSword]

I like it because it has a good beat and you can dance to it.

yesssssssssssss

[Orion]

I like music b/c it is something that I like that provides me with great value without the need to understand why. The first time I heard it, I understood its significance without knowing why. It was something that I could make my own that no one could ever take away.

Finding out what makes it tick is just icing on the cake.

[Modus]

Why do I LIKE music? LIIIIKE?

Music is one of the primary reasons to exist. It's like, extract of life. Someone could probably make a song good enough to manipulate me into doing anything. Music has power over me.

[dannthr]

Because I'm human and music is a functional result of our biology.

[mickomoo]

It took me a while to fully realize but I'm simply into music cause I'm interested in the core building blocks. Harmony, rhythm and timbre. I like certain genres cause I think they excel in some of these aspects.

That expalins everything. That honestly gives me a better reason for understanding my prefrences as well. I don't know why I didn't think of that.

I like music with a good rhythm, music with emotive and challenging performances, music with alot of energy... I'm very big on harmonies and how they compliment each other in music. I'm very big on vocal harmonies as well, maybe because of the unique textural quality of the human voice. Um... I like music thats BIG which is where my love of reverb comes from... so many qualities to why I like specific music, but not music as a whole.

YES!!

Though I have to admit my love of the human voice was "aquired." I noticed at first my like of music (or my ability to describe it) was limited to timberal qualities, I could only name a limited number of instruments I thought I "liked" but the truth is that in any circumstance any instrument can be likeable. As I expanded my taste and even my composition comfortzone I started to have more "favorite instruments" until I realized it wasn't per se qualities inhernt to one specific instrument.

Because I'm human and music is a functional result of our biology.

That's debatable. In part (I would say) because of semantics, but also just evolutionarily. There are evolutionary biologists and psychologists who argue music was an accident. It's possible, some of them say, that things like rhythm have some biological basis, but that music itself was happened stance or just learned behavior. I'm more inclined to agree with you, but I'm just saying is all...

On that note (teehee), have any of you read "This is your brain on music" by Daniel Levitin? As a musican, lover of knowledge, and listener of music that book was awesome on multiple levels.

[Damashii!!]

it leads to an endless supply of money and women.

[/thread]

for me music is a medicinal, spiritual type of thing (in addition to entertainment). I love music because it keeps me sane, lets me blow off steam, puts a smile on my face or a certain bounce in my walk, etc. and I strongly, strongly, STRONGLY believe that it is one of the universal languages. Put a few grumpy people in the same room, turn on some good music in the background and serve some delicious food and you're bound to have a much better atmosphere within an hour. that's why I love music.

but mostly the money and women.

[Chimpazilla]

I absolutely live for deep thumping, groovy, grungy, evolving/modulated and/or dubwub basslines... paired with lots of gated stuff and gobs of intricate percussion and dreamy pads and maybe some glitching and the icing on the cake is a sweet sine/saw portamento lead with tons of delay and reverb and some automated vibrato.

Whoa. I just had an out of body experience...

[timaeus222]

I absolutely live for deep thumping, groovy, grungy, evolving/modulated and/or dubwub basslines... paired with lots of gated stuff and gobs of intricate percussion and dreamy pads and maybe some glitching and the icing on the cake is a sweet sine/saw portamento lead with tons of delay and reverb and some automated vibrato.

Haha, sounds exactly like that one mix we submitted on Mar. 17, 2013, sound-for-sound. *coughgamestartswithPcough*

[ectogemia]

I'm right there with the artist formerly known as sir jordanius. Music is my center and has been for quite a while. That center has taken on new significance and depth ever since I started writing my own music a couple of years ago. It's always been a very spiritual thing for me as it has a visceral effect on me which nothing else has been able to duplicate. There's something really powerful and fulfilling about imagining a sound and then realizing it starting with the trusty ol' starting material of silence.

Edited September 13, 2013 by ectogemia

[Flexstyle]

I can't not like music. Rhythm has been a key part of the fabric of my being since I was tiny. I love sound, I love stringing sounds together, and I like when this is done in manner that involves some kind of order.

[Chimpazilla]

Haha, sounds exactly like that one mix we submitted on Mar. 17, 2013, sound-for-sound. *coughgamestartswithPcough*

Oh my graves, Timaeus, watery even talking about? You're just a total loonboon.

*coughcoughPlantscough*

Oh wait, I remember now, yeah let's make MOARmist tracks like that one!

*coughchokesputterZombiescough*

[Ryan Jobson]

It makes me feel things and stuff...

[ShadTK]

Oddly enough, I've found the answer for this with another question

Why do I like games?

For years I wondered why I liked playing VG's so much. I never had a favorite genre, or a favorite art style. But I simply loved some games, without being ever able to tell why.

Until I realized that I loved the music of every one of these games.

Earthbound, sonic, touhou, kirby, zelda, etc... Every time I mentioned them, the first thing that would come to my mind would be their theme motifs, rather then any art, character or gameplay characteristics.

To quote sound designer Water Murch:"Film sound is rarely appreciated for itself alone, but functions largely as an enhancement of the visuals.

By means of some mysterious perceptual alchemy, whatever virtues sound brings to film are largely perceived and appreciated by

the audience in visual terms. The better the sound, the better is the image."

This "mysterious alchemy" is exactly what I love, and what I wish to uncover as I study music.

As for if I pass this for my mixes... I unfortunately can't tell, as I am still not confident enough to just go on jamming songs. I have a few compositions, but every one of them was created out of necessity (BGMs for games com gamejams), rather then my own initiative. One day I'll overcome this "block" I have for composing/mixing.. but as for now I'll just keep studying.

[liltommyj]

I think my favorite thing about music is the way different parts interact with each other.

For me, making music is like solving a puzzle where I have to figure out a way to put together different sounds so that they form a structure and compliment each other.

I like how music is the sum of several parts and how these parts can sound rather plain on their own but when put together form something so rich and powerful.

[timaeus222]

My perspective on this has changed since then. I still like music for complexities, but now I've grown to like harmonies, chord progressions, and melodic contours more so than just the mere layering of complementary elements. Quality stuff that didn't click with me before clicks with me now, because of my new focus towards arrangement. It evokes more intense emotions in me than it used to, which is great.

I've also found that what I like is turned completely upside-down whenever I try something new. Here's what I mean. I used to not like dubstep, orchestral, or dance music. But wait! Now, I do? Yes... I DO! Now that I've written dubstep, orchestral, and dance music, I can appreciate all the little details in those types of music and what makes it so great. I've grown more fond of this kind of stuff than I ever would a year ago.

Edited November 30, 2014 by timaeus222